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Tuesday, 16 January 2018

Back To My Roots: The Importance of Building a Strong Brand

Yesterday, I headed back to my old stomping ground to chat with the BA Textiles students of Cleveland College of Art & Design about building a strong brand and how to use social media to spread the word.

I used to commute everyday from Newcastle to Hartlepool and it really is a journey I miss. So, this trip really indulged my nostalgia and the time on the train that used to seem so long, flew by.

Arriving back somewhere you have spent some wonder years of your life is a special feeling and in the whirlwind of seeing old faces I almost forgot about the new ones I was going to see. A cup of tea, and a few lovely hugs later I was in full swing of my talk to the students.

I spoke about my branding, starting with my minimal logo that has carried my brand through its journey up until now. I shared how my vision was more than just the logo and that branding should always be a continuous thread through any company to solidify the brand past just graphics.

I moved onto the importance of branding and the consistency that it bares. My branding is like ivy and grows on everything Kayleigh Falcus related! My packaging, notebooks, ribbon, bags, boxes and such.

I went on to share some amazing people I've had the chance of worked with, from couture designer, Helen Woollams (founder of Hellavagirl) to global dj, DJ Colin Francis. As designers, getting our work out there is important and having people wear your jewellery who also love it is equally as important!

I also shared my experiences of being featured in print versus being featured online. It's easy to shout about ourselves but being approached by magazines is always a compliment to your brand. Engage Magazine were the first magazine to feature the brand and have most recently been covered in NE Love Magazine so took those to show and chat through the process of dealing with magazines.

I then talked them through how I used social media to spread the word of the KF brand from very early on using social media. From Facebook to insta, we covered it! Stats, reach, going live, reaching out to peopl, building a community and so on. I took questions and a surprising amount of students stayed behind to pick my brains. It was nice sharing my experiences with people who are walking the exact journey I did. Well, maybe not the exact... we all need our own path. And besides all the regular stuff I'm supposed to say, I shared a message I think everyone starting off should hear: Be fearless, if something stands in your way figure out how to jump over it. This is your vision.

And just like that, I was saying my goodbyes and heading back for home turf. I'll be back soon thought to get creative but until then, you'll find me planning for something coming up!